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Veterans conference allows access to services

Nathan Handley
10:13 p.m. CDT August 12, 2014

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Robert Merriweather speaks with Economic Development Specialist and Veterans Business Development Officer David Tiller at a Veterans Conference at Jackson State Community College Tuesday.
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KENNETH CUMMINGS/The Jackson Sun
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Veterans received access to information and services at the West Tennessee Veterans Connection Conference Tuesday morning at Jackson State Community College.

The event, organized by several local organizations, hosted speakers on several topics including health care benefits, jobs, government contracting and small business counseling.

Ron Acree, director of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, said he helped organize the event as a one-stop shop for veterans to learn about the services available to them.

“We don’t want them to have to go here and go there looking for information,” Acree said. “We brought it all here.”

Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder of the State Department of Veterans Affairs was the keynote speaker at the event. She spoke about the many ways the department is working to provide services for veterans. One way the department seeks to help veterans is by providing jobs.

“We don’t want them to just have a job. We want them to have a quality job,” Grinder said. “I have met with commissioners and said, ‘We’ve got the veterans with the skills you need.”

Grinders said that since the push for jobs began in January, more than 400 veterans have been hired in Tennessee. Grinders said the department has several new projects in the works to help veterans, including an entrepreneur boot camp and educational resources on their website.

Grinders said one issue she is very concerned about is veteran suicide.

“The numbers have increased,” Grinders said. “We are working with the Department of Health to get help to veterans before they get that desperate. We also work with the families of vets to help them recognize the signs.”

More information on the Department of Veterans Affairs may be found at www.tn.gov/veteran.

The conference hosted other speakers including Ben Ferguson of the CO Center, Larry Simmons of Madison County Veteran’s Services and Walter Perry of the U. S. Small Business Administration.

Perry spoke about the opportunities for veterans to get government guaranteed loans with the Small Business Administration.

“We want them to be able to seek capital to start small businesses or expand existing businesses without much risk,” Perry said.

Perry encouraged veterans to get the loans through local banks where they already had connections.

Ferguson informed veterans about the opportunities provided by the CO Center in Jackson and brought along a 3D printer for demonstrations.

“It’s a training center, a facility to work in, the technology you need,” Ferguson said. “We help you however we can.”

Speakers at the event also brought handouts with information and were available for questions.

The conference lasted from 9 a.m. to noon. About 20 to 30 veterans attended.